By Angélica Franganillo Díaz, CNN
(CNN) — Three months after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem shut down three oversight offices, slashing staff from hundreds to a dozen, advocates and whistleblowers say the move gutted an already fragile accountability system.
The oversight is crucial as at least 11 people have died in ICE custody since the start of the fiscal year, according to agency data and press releases. With months still left in the fiscal year, 2025 is already nearing the 12 deaths reported in all of fiscal year 2024 as the Trump administration continues its immigration enforcement push.
Michelle Brané, a former Immigration Detention Ombudsman, which is an office providing neutral oversight of federal immigration detentions, said the true toll “could be much higher.”
“People’s lives are at risk,” she continued.
The closures have significantly reduced internal oversight at a time when DHS is handling complex immigration operations. The department is also moving to open new detention sites, including one in the Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” which President Donald Trump visted last week.
Private immigration detention contractors are also ramping up: CoreCivic is reopening the Dilley detention center and is expanding in four states, while GEO group is reactivating sites in Georgia and Newark, New Jersey.
Advocates have raised alarm about the lack of accountability, citing inhumane conditions, medical neglect, and abuse in some federal detention facilities.
“As the Trump administration is doubling down on immigration enforcement, and the number of people in custody is rapidly increasing, we should be increasing oversight, not eliminating it,” said Katie Shepherd, one of the hundreds of employees affected by the cuts to oversight and one of dozens of previously anonymous whistleblowers who submitted a disclosure to Congress in May. Shepherd previously served as a senior policy adviser at the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL).
Shepherd said, as far as she knows, she is concerned that meaningful oversight is not happening because there is now minimal expertise within the office
“It’s problematic in many different ways,” said Shepherd.
Shepherd said the office had more than 500 open investigations when she left.
When asked about the number of ongoing investigations at the DHS’ office for CRCL, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told CNN that the department remains “committed to civil rights” but claimed that “sadly the CRCL office actually undermined civil rights protections as well as basic federal law-enforcement.
“All legally required functions are still being carried out—but in a more efficient and cost-effective way, and without compromising the department’s core mission of securing the homeland,” McLaughlin added. “Oversight offices continue to receive and open new complaints and investigations.”
In April, advocacy groups including Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, the Southern Border Communities Coalition and the Southern Border Communities Coalition sued the Trump administration, arguing it was unlawfully eliminating oversight offices mandated by Congress.
According to court documents, on March 21, 2025, hundreds of employees at the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman (CISOMB), and the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman (OIDO) were suspended via mass email – effectively shutting the offices down.
The Trump administration argues the offices have not been eliminated.
By May 23, many employees were formally removed from their roles, leaving hundreds of unresolved complaints, including reports of medical neglect and wrongful deportation, according to court documents.
Created by Congress over the last two decades, these offices were meant to provide independent oversight, investigate civil rights complaints, and ensure accountability inside DHS’s sprawling immigration operations.
The challengers argue that Trump’s DHS is speaking out of both sides of its mouth—telling the court that the offices remain intact, while proposing budget cuts to eliminate them. In one filing, they cited the administration’s budget request for fiscal year 2026, which recommends zeroing out funds for the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman because “the office is being dissolved.”
In a recent court filing, DHS argued that language around OIDO’s dissolution in its FY2026 budget was meant as a recommendation from the president – not an indication of current or planned action by the office itself and that ultimately Congress has the last say. The agency argued the reference should not be interpreted as evidence that the reductions in force effectively shut down the office.
“DHS remains committed to civil rights protections but must streamline oversight to remove roadblocks to enforcement,” a department spokesperson said in a statement to CNN acknowledging the reduction in force efforts. “These reductions ensure taxpayer dollars support the Department’s core mission: border security and immigration enforcement.”
The spokesperson said that the oversight offices “have obstructed immigration enforcement by adding bureaucratic hurdles and undermining DHS’s mission,” and “often function as internal adversaries that slow down operations rather than support them.”
“It seems like they’re [the government] playing games,” said Michelle Brané, former Ombudsman at OIDO, referring to the ongoing uncertainty and conflicting signals about whether the oversight offices are closing, reopening, or restructuring.
DHS’ critics say internal moves tell a different story
In a sworn declaration to US District Judge Ana Reyes, DHS laid out its plans to rebuild three oversight offices that were effectively dismantled after mass layoffs this spring.
But while DHS insists it is moving forward, critics say internal reshuffling tells a different story.
Troup Hemenway, the acting officer for CRCL and a former Heritage Foundation Project 2025 leader, said DHS is pursuing a phased plan to restore operations using a mix of permanent hires and detailees. Each office would get leadership, caseworkers, and support staff, with contractors assisting CRCL during the transition. Still, Hemenway acknowledged that rebuilding would take time—and that, for now, the offices rely on short-term fixes.
Challengers pointed out that Project 2025—the Heritage Foundation’s policy roadmap for the next conservative presidency—explicitly calls for eliminating these oversight bodies.
Hemenway also said that Ronald Sartini— now the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman — was brought in to reassess what duties the oversight offices should carry forward. Before that, he held several leadership roles at USCIS, including Chief of Staff in the Immigration Records and Identity Services Directorate.
In his declaration, Sartini described the offices as “not the model of efficiency,” citing mismanagement and overlapping responsibilities. But just before his testimony, DHS reassigned his deputy — apparently without his knowledge — leaving him as the only employee assigned to CISOMB, CRCL, and OIDO.
Challengers say this underscores the disconnect between DHS’s public plans and internal actions. They argue work at the offices remains stalled except for what Sartini can do alone, while DHS continues to state in official documents that the offices are being eliminated “in their entirety.”
Brané, who led OIDO for over nine months, said that even before the cuts, staffing was a major challenge. The office was created to conduct unannounced inspections, investigate detention complaints, and recommend oversight improvements across ICE and CBP facilities.
Under Hemenway’s restructuring plan, OIDO would have eight to ten employees: the Ombudsman, a deputy, five to seven caseworkers, and one person focused on reporting and support tasks.
Brané said this would be insufficient—especially as the number of people in detention rises.
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